Empowering government through systems integration

Total Information Management is a company specializing in systems integration and in the flourishing business recovery services that focus on data backup facilities for entire companies. Tony Pelaez, formerly with Oracle Phils. and now TIM’s vice president for the public sector, talked to NetWorks about some of their current government projects as well as the importance of having a business data recovery facility.

NetWorks: How did Total Information Management evolve as a company?

Pelaez: TIM was incorporated in 1985 as a company engaged in the sale of refurbished mainframe systems. At that time, the economy was not so good and there was a squeeze in importation. For companies requiring the power of mainframes, buying refurbished systems made sense since there is a difference between the performance of a brand-new system and a refurbished one, but the price difference is tremendous.

Eventually, the company was able to negotiate for distributorship agreements for various IT products, one of which was EMC Enterprise Storage System. In 1994, TIM put up the very first Business Recovery Center in the Philippines. Today, TIM has two large BRCs catering to the needs of various business sectors. Most large banks in the Philippines trust TIM for their business recovery services.

NetWorks: What is TIM’s primary area of specialization and how has it helped the Philippine government?

Pelaez: TIM’s primary services are business recovery services, hardware maintenance, system integration and managed network services. It is in these areas that TIM has clearly established itself as a very cost-effective alternative. Take for example, maintenance services. We have been outbidding the manufacturer’s representative/subsidiary in the Philippines simply because we can offer a higher level of service at a lower cost. Inasmuch as government agencies are all price-conscious, they can definitely take advantage of this.

NetWorks: What outsourcing services does TIM provide and who are its clients?

Pelaez: For business recovery services, TIM’s clients are major banks, insurance firms and telecommunications carriers; and for managed network services, the manufacturing firms.

NetWorks: Why are business recovery/data recovery systems crucial?

Pelaez: These are crucial since the IT infrastructure of every business may be the only key to business survival in case of a disaster. Studies have shown that companies that do not have a business recovery site and plan in place would close down in 13 months after being hit by a disaster.

NetWorks: What are the facilities and requirements needed for successful business recovery operations?

Pelaez: Data centers should be equipped with servers, tape drives, printers, network equipment, UPS, genset, and precision air-conditioners. User work areas with LAN-connected PCs will also be critical components.

NetWorks: Please elaborate on the Department of Trade and Industry’s BNRS system.

Pelaez: The Web-enabled Business Name Registration System allows people to research and register business names online. We assessed the requirement and matched them with the resources that DTI already had. By doing so, we were able to offer a solution that was very cost-effective and lessened wastage by integrating existing resources with new ones. All our other competitors offered completely new infrastructure that made their offered solutions very expensive. Now that the government is experiencing an abnormal budget deficit, it does not make sense to waste resources.

NetWorks: Are there any other projects that TIM is doing for the government? What are the challenges in fulfilling IT projects for the government? What are the stumbling blocks faced by TIM’s managers and engineers?

Pelaez: TIM is also developing a financial information system for the province of Isabela. It is also a full-system integration project. We have other projects which we cannot disclose at the moment.

The biggest challenge we face in fulfilling IT projects for the government is trying to manage the financial side. As you well know, collecting payments is always a challenge, not because the agency refuses to pay but because of the process of generating the payments itself. Trying to balance the requirement for a cost-effective solution and the need to make the project financially worthwhile for the company is a tough task.

NetWorks: What is the state of systems integration in the country? What are the steps to be taken to improve the situation?

Pelaez: Very few people understand that system integration is a very specialized type of service which requires experts from different fields as well as hardware, software, database, network, etc. Usually, government agencies do not have all of these experts, thus it is reasonable to have system integration outsourced and usually they do so. The problem is when they compute the cost; they usually forget to factor in the cost of system integration. They only include the cost for hardware, software and all those tangible resources. What happens is that the budget set for the project is not enough.

My suggestion not only for the government but for everyone implementing applications is for system integration services to be made an integral part of the cost component.

NetWorks: After 9-11, has there been an increased interest in recovery and backup systems?

Pelaez: Yes, the Philippine market has gained an enlightened awareness on business continuity and disaster recovery. The banks, for example, are now seriously implementing and testing their disaster preparedness due to a mandate issued by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in November 2001.

NetWorks: Are recovery and backup systems in demand globally? What countries does TIM usually compete with in this area?

Pelaez: Yes. The biggest markets are the United States and the United Kingdom.

NetWorks: In your opinion, has there been an improvement in the country’s infrastructure that can contribute to more tech services such as those provided by TIM?

Pelaez: Yes, the country has made the biggest stride in telecommunications. Cost-effective, high-bandwidth leased lines and wireless connections will provide companies with the potential to implement online, real-time disaster recovery similar to what US firms used in New York during the 9-11 incident.